


Call to Me

by StackerPentecost



Series: Diarmute Gods AU [1]
Category: Pilgrimage (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23369197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StackerPentecost/pseuds/StackerPentecost
Summary: Diarmuid seeks out the help of the gods he grew up with to save his mother's life. He ends up having to give up more than expected.---For Day 6 of Diarmute week.
Relationships: Brother Diarmuid/The Mute
Series: Diarmute Gods AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680916
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Call to Me

**Author's Note:**

> This was done for Day 6 of Diarmute week. The theme was worship.

Diarmuid picked his way through the forest, his offering held close to his chest. It was a handmade necklace, the pendant in the shape of a deer. He loved it truthfully, as it was all he had left of his grandfather, the man who had made it, but desperate times called for desperate measures. 

He found the altar exactly where he remembered it from when he was a child when he’d come to this place with his mother. That had been before the Christian monks had come through and much of the local people had converted. Diarmuid himself had considered joining the order himself but that had been before his mother had gotten sick. Now his mother took up all of his time. She had grown so incredibly frail and sick, Diarmuid feared she would never recover. That was why he’d come here, out to the old altar, to call upon the old gods in a way he hadn’t in many years. He’d never forgotten the things his mother had taught him as a child and now he would use what he knew and do whatever he could to ask the gods for help. 

The altar was inside a small cave, deep in the woods. Diarmuid was grateful that he even remembered the way at all. The cave was dark, even in the mid-afternoon sun. The altar itself was grown over and dusty, long since forgotten by the locals. Nonetheless, Diarmuid sank to his knees, pulling out the pendant along with a few other small odds and ends. 

First, he let a small candle and set it on the bottom of the altar to burn. He then used a bit of incense to perfume to cave around him, filling his nose with the scent of wildflowers. Wildflowers happened to be a favorite of the god he wished to call upon.

Said god was known simply as The Mute, for when he appeared, he said very little. He was a god that was said to be very wrathful at times but also very protective over the subjects under his care. It was also said that he had once been human and had survived a stab to the gut, something that would have killed any normal man. For that reason, he was said to be a god of healing as well. So, Diarmuid decided if anyone could save his mother, it would be the Mute. 

Diarmuid took a deep breath and tried to banish his worries from his mind, beginning to speak the words his mother had taught him so long ago, his voice echoing throughout the cave. The words were ancient, so much that they felt heavy on his tongue. As he spoke, he laid the pendant on the altar as an offering, hoping it would please the god. 

After he finished the rites, for a long moment, there was nothing but the faint sounds of the forest nearby but nothing else. Then, it was like Diarmuid blinked and one moment he was on his knees in the cave, the next he was standing amongst a field full of wildflowers. Before him stood a man who was a bit taller than he was, with dark eyes and dark curly hair, his body muscled and broad, dressed in a simple tunic and breeches. 

Diarmuid felt the voice inside more than he heard it.  _ “Why have you sought me out?” _

Diarmuid swallowed and took a deep breath, willing his nerves to calm. “My mother is sick and I fear she is dying. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She is a good woman and deserves to live to be old. I come before you to ask for mercy for her, so that she may recover and continue to live.” 

_ “You have been schooled in the ways of the gods. You know that for everything, there is a price.” _

Diarmuid nodded slowly. “I know. I am willing to give up whatever is needed for her. She is all I have. She has loved me since the day I was born. She deserves to live.”

The Mute stepped closer, his eyes seeming to look straight into Diarmuid’s very soul. Diarmuid didn’t move, doing his best to not telegraph the fear creeping up his spine. 

_ “Your mother will recover. She will be as healthy as she has ever been and will live to see much more in her life. What will you offer in return?” _

Diarmuid took a moment to think about his response. In the end, he felt despair. “I have nothing to give. None of my possessions have worth.” 

_ “You have your life.” _

Diarmuid’s eyes widen. “You would kill me?”   


_ “No. I have no desire to see your blood shed. But I do have a desire for a companion.” _

“A companion?”

_ “Yes. Many of my subjects have turned away from me. They no longer worship as they once did. If you were to stay by my side, as my companion, as my partner, I would spare your mother.” _

Diarmuid bit his lip. “Would I ever see my mother again?”

_ “Only from afar. Your life would change completely. You would live as I do, as the gods do.” _

“But she would live? And she would be happy?”

The Mute offered his hand.  _ “You have my word.” _

She would be healthy, alive and happy. Wasn’t that what he came here for in the first place? And he didn’t doubt the Mute’s promise. In the end, his mother’s wellbeing was more important to him than anything else. She deserved to live and to be happy. 

He took the Mute’s hand. “I am yours.”

Above them, the skies opened up, lightning sparking across the sky. Diarmuid hoped that wasn’t a bad omen for what was to come.

For the first time, the Mute opened his mouth to speak. “Come. I will show you all I know.”

Diarmuid knew that from now, nothing would ever be the same. And oddly, something had changed in him when he took the Mute’s hand. He found he was no longer afraid. 

Diarmuid followed the Mute into the unknown.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm saintaleksander on Tumblr.


End file.
